Does Slapping Your Tattoo Help?

Slapping a tattoo can be a common practice, but it is not recommended due to the potential risks and discomfort it can cause. The skin around a tattoo can become irritated due to various reasons, and some tattoo artists may even slap the tattoo after finishing the piece, believing it brings good luck. However, slapping can delay the healing process, cause scarring, and fading. To reduce the itchiness of your new tattoo, you can apply moisturizer or gently rub the area to relieve itching.

Blowouts are caused by the tattoo needle injecting ink into the wrong layer of skin, and trauma after the fact can fuck up a tattoo, but it cannot cause a blowout. Slapping your tattooed skin to alleviate itching does not cause any damage and can increase the risk of infection, even affecting the quality of your tattoo.

Alpha Keri oil can soothe itching, and two clean facecloths (warm and ice cold) can be used to interchange them for a few minutes before slapping a large slick of the oil on. However, slapping your tattooed skin to alleviate itching does not cause any damage. The best remedy is to pat it rapidly, as it provides the same relief of scratching without the damage.

If you press too hard while tattooing, you may get a blowout, where the ink gets injected into the wrong layer of skin. Patting, slapping, peeling, and rubbing also fall into the “no, no” category. To help soothe the itch, use Tattoo Goo lotion with Panthenol.

A new tattoo is considered an open wound, and it can burn faster in normal skin, leading to fading. If you feel good about your tattoo, you can lightly slap it or apply an ice pack. However, it is important to remember that scratching a brand-new tattoo can introduce bacteria into the fresh wound, leading to an infection.